Life through Song
by James-Padfoot
Summary: To his intense surprise, Killian finds that he absolutely loves the musical diversity of The Land Without Magic. And so embarks his musical journey, as his story unfolds through song. [This is a series of unrelated one-shots that tell Killian & Emma 's story with the aid of songs, through different genre's and different characters.]
1. The Truth

_This is a new series of mostly unrelated one shots that have a common denominator of being inspired by, and featuring music. It's about telling different aspects of the Killian & Emma story through song._

**_Each song is an individual, stand-alone story._**

* * *

><p><strong><span>The Truth – David Cook [Analog Heart]<span>**

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><p>No silly curses, evil witches, crazy imps, and other type of nefarious misdeeds had plagued their lives since the fall of the Wicked Witch of the West six months ago. It was a life Emma and Killian had always wanted, punctuated with the right amount of adventure given that a permanent (and heavily guarded) portal that now linked the Enchanted Forest to Storybrooke.<p>

Given how most of the people who had lived with Storybrooke's modern facilities had been unsurprisingly reluctant to abandon their comfortable lives in favor of the Enchanted Forest the first time around anyway, it was an arrangement most people were pleased with. It was truly a best-case scenario, as far as Killian was concerned.

He'd taken like a fish to water in adapting with the modern technology he now had to contend with on a daily basis, but Killian had fallen in love with the sheer diversity of The Land Without Magic's music.

He'd taken to learning new songs every day from Emma's vast music library that she stored on her computer (which had taken him an embarrassingly long time to master, especially with one hand), by choosing songs in random order, picking a title that tickled his particular fancy.

The mouse hovered on a title that caught his eyes; it's simplicity and honesty verifying its name. "The Truth," he read out loud. By David Cook, off the album Analog Heart.

Killian liked this man already.

He double tapped the song, closing his eyes as a drum beat and scratchy vocals permeated the room.

_Two steps removed from every thing I thought I knew  
>There's no remedy<em>

_I see your face in every single thing I do  
>You change me<em>

Emma. Gods, who was this man, and how did he know? He'd literally changed for Emma Swan, hadn't he? That entire year, he'd seen her face _everywhere. _He'd stayed his hand from his flask more times than he could count because she hadn't been there to drink with him. He'd stayed his tongue from lashing out at Baelfire during the particular confrontation on why Henry's father hadn't been the best choice to retrieve mother and son. He'd stayed his blade, tampering the anger, because he'd seen her face.

_Your laugh intoxicating  
>One touch and I'm negating everything around<br>Take me and I'm yours  
>I only want you anymore<br>I kiss the ground_

He bit his lip, allowing the guitar melody to assist his memory to their kisses, now abundant where they'd once been scarce, allowing it to accost his senses. He'd do whatever it took to see her happy, and he didn't feel an iota of shame that he was so helplessly devoted to Emma Swan, because she made him whole, without doing anything at all.

_I rest my head from running circles 'round my mind  
>On why you let go<br>No answers to be found, romances don't rewind  
>I guess I'll never know<br>Why your absence is devastating  
>No touch to calm my head and everyone around<br>You leave me when I'm yours  
>'cause you don't want me anymore<br>I hit the ground, yeah_

The lyrics, angry, sad and broken (Killian feels really sorry for this David Cook), made Killian recall to a time when Emma had stayed away from him, how she'd suddenly just disappeared from his periphery because she'd fallen in love with him and had been terrified because The Wicked Witch had just threatened to take away everything she had ever loved. Killian had been devastated, had recklessly endangered his own life to ensure Emma's safety, completely unaware that his own survival had been part of Emma's sanity, because he'd given himself to her and thought she didn't want him. What a fool, he'd been.

_If you want to know the truth,  
>You make or break my day<br>If you want to know the truth  
>I wouldn't have it any other way<em>

The song is angry, sad, completely and hopelessly in love. There is so much yearning in the music that Killian understands it, is glad he's no longer in that place, that Emma's embraced him, that they're trying to make this work (because True Love doesn't mean no problems), but the last verse rings true. He really wouldn't have it any other way.

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><p><em><strong>AN -**__ This song is off David Cook's Analog Heart album. It is unavailable on iTunes, but David has consented to its free distribution to fans via any means of sharing. (Yes, we've asked in person. He said go for it.) If you're interested in this album (and only this album, for subsequent albums please support this brilliant man and buy it off iTunes) kindly PM me. He's a brilliant lyricist and he has a great voice, and I personally think he is way underrated. It seems fitting that he was the one who inspired this series. More to come, from different song era's and artists!_


	2. Tong Hua (Fairy Tale)

**Tong Hua as sung by Jason Chen and J. Rice**

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><p>The first time Killian finds <em>the <em>song (an instance he'll repeat many a time as he keeps discovering more songs that magically elucidates his life), it's half in a language he doesn't understand nor recognizes. And yet, the bits that he does understand tells him enough. It's a love story, a fairytale love story that is both true and sad, strong and enduring, filled with happy endings that rest on belief and faith and hope.

_Don't know how long  
>It's been a while since<br>You told me...your favorite story_

Emma had confessed that she had loved Peter Pan as a child, but now knows better and is madly in love with Captain Hook. Following her confession, he had coaxed out her version of the story. Had learned both of her past, and her hopes for the future. Had sat and watched with her all sorts of versions of his supposed story (none of which got it right), she'd endured his flabbergasted cursing at the television, even as she giggled prettily behind her hand. And yet at the end of it, Emma had still been adamant that Peter Pan would always be her favorite Disney story, until Killian had slyly suggested that perhaps they start their own.

_I see the tears in your eyes  
>They tell me you don't believe<br>That I can't be...your prince charming._

He does a good job of forgetting their second kiss, when she'd kneed him in the crown jewels, when she pushed him away… when he'd had to believe for the both of them, supporting (and respecting) her decisions. He might never live up to _the _Prince Charming, but Emma has since assured him that she has never been one for princes anyway and much prefers naval officers and dashing pirates. He endures to be the best of both.

_Maybe you can't understand  
>But when you said you loved me<br>My life was changed  
>And I wish you could see<br>I'm willing to  
>be the one<br>and the angel that you love  
>with open arms<br>I'll always be there_

She had told him she loved him, the first time, in a fit of rage. She'd been trying to protect him, and when he'd questioned her authority on his capability to fight, she'd screamed that she couldn't lose anyone else she loved. When he tried to draw her in his arms in the aftermath of that fight, she had slapped him, saying it was none of his business who she was in love with. It had taken Killian 2 days before he could look at her or speak a word, an action that had thawed her frostiness, as she realized that she had crossed a line. They'd made up shortly after.

_You must believe  
>That you and me<br>Will end up living happily  
>In our own fairytale story<em>

Now, as she sleeps and he runs his fingers through her hair, he's glad he's gotten a second chance at his fairytale story.

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><p><em>AN – Tong Hua is one of my favorite songs of all time, and I really recommend that you listen to the original by Guang Liang, with a translated lyric accompaniment so that you may appreciate the beauty of the song._

_ If translated, there were actually more of the verses that would have added beautifully to the story, but I figured it was even more poetic that Killian wouldn't figure out the translation (and just how perfect the song relates to them) until much later. _

_For those of you who prefer the song entirely in Mandarin as I do, I'm referring to this bit._

_你哭著對我说_

_童話裡都是騙人的_

_從你说愛我以后_

_我的天空星星都亮了_

_我願變成童話裡_

_你愛的那個天使_

_Translated roughly to: _

_"You told me as you cried_  
><em>That everything in fairy tales are all lies<em>  
><em>Ever since you told me you loved me<em>  
><em>All the stars in my sky have brightened.<em>  
><em>I'm willing to become the one in the fairy tale<em>  
><em>The angel that you love".<em>


	3. Kiss You

**Kiss You – One Direction**

_(Not even going to apologise for the song choice, 1D is my running partner at the gym ;P ) _

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><p>Killian sometimes just leaves the music player running in the background while he meanders around the loft, not quite paying attention to the lyrics or melodies unless something truly catches his ears.<p>

He's wiping down the mantle, fiddling with a photo frame of Emma and Snow smiling brightly when the upbeat song catches his attention.

_Oh, tell me tell me tell me how to turn your love on  
>You can get, get anything that you want<br>Baby just shout it out, shout it out  
>Baby just shout it out, yeah<em>

Killian moves his hips, eyebrow unconsciously raised as the meaning of the lyrics wash over him. He's sampled quite the selection from Swan's musical archive, and on more than one occasion has felt that this realm is _far_ too direct with the way they approach sex. And vulgar. _And he's a pirate_!

Killian has always believed that the true sexual prowess of a man lies in how well he makes his woman feel undone yet powerful, to share power that should flow like molten as man and woman wrestle in bed, battling dominance until both are satiated.

Yet the music's upbeat melody coupled with youthful voices makes Killian think of frolicking in the beach rather than steamy coital scenes surrounded by foliage. It's a decidedly summer song, he thinks.

_Oh, I just wanna take you anywhere that you like  
>We could go out any day, any night<br>Baby I'll take you there, take you there  
>Baby I'll take you there, yeah<em>

He gives in, dancing and twirling his cloth without a care, a motion he'd never have attempted unless alone, turning the volume a few notches higher.

_So tell me girl if every time we  
>To-o-uch<br>You get this kind of ru-u-ush  
>Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah<em>

His t-shirt (marvelously comfortable, if slightly informal attire) rides up his torso as he grabs the air-freshener spray can, using it as a microphone to croon along with the _yeah, yeah, yeah's _of the song.

He understands now, why Snow is known to sometimes sing as she cleans, with the windows open and birds tweeting along with her, because even though it is supposed to be a domestic chore (something which David had teased him for, only to be put in place by both his daughter and wife), Killian feels a sense of contentment in knowing the humble abode he now shares with Emma is clean and homey.

_If you don't wanna take it slow  
>And you just wanna take me home<br>Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah_

He's on his second _yeah _when he spots her, arms crossed against the door sill and eyes twinkling with unabashed amusement. Killian freezes for a second, before deciding 'what the hell' and sashays over to her. Her grin burns brighter as he inches closer, and he figures he is probably quite the sight, in a t-shirt and jeans, cloth hanging from his hook and spray can in his hand, moving his hips to a beat sung by pre-pubescent sounding boys.

"I can't believe you're singing One Direction," she says, as if it's supposed to tease him or playfully shame.

Killian doesn't know who the singers are, so he doesn't care, and instead, sings the lyrics to her, voice low,

"_And let me kiss you_."

The effect it has on Emma is immediate; her eyes zero in on his lips and she moves closer, hands coming to rest on the sides of his neck, so Killian throws the cleaning items in the direction of the couch. It doesn't quite hit its mark, but he doesn't care.

Neither does Emma, as she leans in to join their lips as one, but Killian figures he's not done teasing her just yet. He moves back, adding commentary to the lyrics, trying to drive her crazy without actually having to touch her much.

_Oh, baby, baby, don't you know you got what I need_

("Oh but I think you do know, Swan")

_Looking so good from your head to your feet_

("You look positively _ravishing_, Emma")

_Come on come over here, over here_

_Come on come over here, yeah_

("Yet still not close enough, not until I'm in you, yes?")

She makes a sound that's a cross between a moan and groan, shooting a jolt of pure want through him, but he's not quite done yet, even as she yanks him bodily in for a searing kiss, all tongues and teeth and bruising lips.

_Baby, be mine tonight, mine tonight  
>Baby, be mine tonight, yeah<br>And if you,  
>You want me too<br>Let's make a move_

She manages to curse at him, a very passionate "Damn you, Killian Jones" in between shared breaths as they find themselves backed against a wall. She climbs up his body like a lithe monkey, legs somehow wrapped round his waist in a scenario that's escalating far too fast for Killian's taste – he had a mind to tease her slowly, but the woman is insatiable.

_Yeah, so tell me girl if every time we  
>To-o-uch<br>You get this kind of ru-u-ush  
>Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah<br>If you don't wanna take it slow (c'mon)  
>And you just wanna take me home<br>Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah_

They're joined at the hip, but he angles his body enough that they make a Y shape against the wall, and she's breathing hard, looking positively wrecked (though he'll make sure that she looks absolutely debauched soon enough).

The music is a distant sound in his ears, he's focused on his beautiful Swan, who's looking at him with an eyebrow raised for his out of character constrain from kissing her when he usually finds it hard to stop. (It's really not his fault, she's like the ocean deep, a trench he'd rather drown in than be away any longer than necessary, and getting lost in her body and eyes is the absolute _best _way to spend any part of his day, he knows.)

Still he waits for the exact moment, and half-sings along, voice low and scratchy in a way he knows will drive her insane, "Oh Swan, _and let me kiss you, let me kiss you, let me kiss you, __**let me kiss you**__." _

"FUCK," she breathes out, "_fuck. I. cannot. believe._ we're going to fucking do it to _One Direction_ but I'm so turned on right now."

His grin is positively feral as he moves back, forcing her to untangle her limbs from his, and extends his hand.

"Come on, let's move this to the bedroom," Killian says, but she's already ahead of him, dragging him by the hook in quick steps.

Emma decides the bed (which is about ten feet away) is far too far and instead pushes him against the closed door, attacking his neck, her lips branding him, and then moving further down (his t-shirt comes off but he's barely aware), until she starts leaving open mouthed kisses at the spot his jeans has become just a little moist.

He stutters her name, and she looks up, with a positively devious grin as if promising to pay back for his previous teasing, and Killian is sure she'll be the sweet death of him.

_Every time we to-o-uch  
>You get this kind of ru-u-ush<br>Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah  
>If you don't wanna take it slow<br>And you just wanna take me home  
>Baby, say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah<em>  
><em><br>__**And let me kiss you**_

The song takes a whole new meaning as she places a kiss on the part of his that is hers.


	4. Always Be My Baby

**Always Be My Baby – David Cook **

_(if you haven't heard his version, do yourself a favour and treat your ears now =D) _

* * *

><p>There are days when Killian feels like he's living in some strange, beautiful, glorious dream where he not only saves the day, reunites a family, wins over not just the love of his life but her son too.<p>

Then he wakes up from the dream, and realizes it's his life. That this is really his life.

They're lying in bed, completely sated and content, when Killian realizes that the music has been on all this time. They'd been so caught up in each other, in their sounds, of skin slapping skin and the primal sounds brought on by intense lovemaking that they'd both neglected to turn off unnecessary appliances.

Emma's already asleep, and Killian grins as he shuffles her down along the bed, so she's in a more comfortable position. She mutters something unintelligible as he does so, but settles into slumber, left hand fisting gently into the comforter, her aquamarine-diamond ring catching bits of the full moon that's shining in.

He's too lazy to move, figuring that the iPod will eventually wear itself out thereby forfeiting the necessity for him to disengage himself from his fiancé (and thankful that they keep clean wipes by the bed). She's far too warm and he's far too comfortable, and Killian knows that he could endure another hundred years of sorrow if it means he'll get to enjoy this moment and the many more to come with his Swan.

He exhales softly, ears picking up the haunting guitar strums that are almost immediately followed by a deep, rugged male voice.

_We were as one babe  
>For a moment in time<br>And it seemed everlasting  
>That you would always be mine<em>

The lyrics, like the lyrics of most songs, inevitably draw his thoughts to the woman by his side.

_Now you want to be free  
>So I'm letting you fly<br>Cause I know in my heart babe  
>Our love will never die<br>No!_

It's become a bit of a hobby, to associate events and thoughts to the lyrics, to see how every song can somehow fit into the love story that has united Killian Jones and Emma Swan. This particular one brings him all the way back to Anton's lair, that instant connection that Killian had just _known_ had been special, and despite how she had hurt him and left him there, he'd still felt that twinge when he had returned the favor and left her in that cell. That twinge that this ran deeper than just revenge, that is was an affront on his very soul, the little that was left. He hadn't understood it at the time, but he's more than realized its meaning now.

_You'll always be a part of me  
>I'm a part of you indefinitely<br>Girl don't you know you can't escape me  
>Ooh darling cause you'll always be my baby<em>

He thinks of how he had to let her go at the town line of Storybrooke almost two years ago, how he'd sworn he'd fight whatever impossible forces conspiring to keep them apart, how he had thought about her _ .day _with only the promise of one word on her part.

_And we'll linger on  
>Time can't erase a feeling this strong<br>No way you're never gonna shake me  
>Ooh darling cause you'll always be my baby<em>

And he'd been right, hadn't he? Not even with her lost memories had she been able to deny the instant connection she'd felt with him (premature kiss included) and after regaining them, thanks to sheer persistence on his part and trust on hers, the one year apart had seemingly vanished as she had thrown her arms around him, breathing out a litany of "_You found me, you found me," _in his ear as they embraced in the busy streets of New York.

_I ain't gonna cry no  
>And I won't beg you to stay<br>If you're determined to leave girl  
>I will not stand in your way<br>But inevitably you'll be back again  
>Cause ya know in your heart babe<br>Our love will never end no_

I know that you'll be back girl  
>When your days and your nights get a little bit colder oooohhh<br>I know that, you'll be right back, babe  
>Ooooh! baby believe me it's only a matter of time<p>

He remembers also, (with a fond grimace) as he presses a kiss to the side of her head, the time she'd disappeared for a day right after she'd blurted out 'I love you' taking herself by surprise more than she had him. She hadn't taken the words back (as he had expected her to when he had caught sight of the sheer look of horror on her face) but she had mumbled a sorry, looking anywhere but his eyes as she stormed out of the loft and into the night.

She hadn't returned that night, worrying him sick until David had sent him a text informing him in a cautious tone (that Killian had inferred from the words) that Emma was feeling a little 'under the weather' and that she'd be staying with her parents.

She had returned early the next day, looking miserable and guilty, starting and stopping her sentences half a dozen times before Killian had taken pity on her and simply enveloped her in his arms, a soft "I know, sweetheart" soothing her worries. But Emma, the part of Emma that was the little lost girl, grew up that day. She had apologized for handling her emotions like a stunted child, had confessed that she loved him so much that it scared her shitless (her words), and then had proceeded to _show him_ how much she loved him, among other words that had been whispered into the dark of night much later.

_You'll always be a part of me  
>I'm part of you indefinitely<br>Girl don't you know you can't escape me  
>Ooh darling cause you'll always be my baby<br>And we'll linger on  
>Time can't erase a feeling this strong<br>No way you're never gonna shake me  
>Ooh darling cause you'll always be my baby<em>

_Always be my baby_

Killian closes his eyes, thankful the playlist is a mellow one, as the voice and words fade out, because she's his now, and he hers, and soon they'll promise themselves to each other before family and friends. But it doesn't really matter, because he's already made that promise to her; as far as Killian Jones is concerned, he's already married to Emma Swan in mind, body and soul. There's nothing for her he wouldn't do, and so perhaps it's highly sentimental, but if he's being honest, he's a bit of a sentimental man - but Emma Swan will always be his. It is with this thought that he falls asleep to.


	5. Silver Fade Into Me

**Silver – David Cook, Fade Into Me – David Cook**

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><p>Neal thinks it is ironic, that the song choice for their first dance as a married couple is David Cook's, given that he's the one that introduced Emma to the man. Neal heard Cook play in a bar a long time ago, when Cook had been a struggling musician barely making ends meet, and Neal had liked him (and his music) enough to part with his hard earned twenty dollars to support the man's music.<p>

Now here she is, dancing with a man that isn't him, mouthing the words to Fade Into Me as they sway, completely lost and in love with each other.

**_Fade into me, fade into you  
>The two of us melting together<br>Until we become something new  
>And we can escape<br>And watch the world chasing to find us  
>Both of us hidden from view<br>If you fade into me_**

He tries not to be bitter, it's been two years since she's returned to them from New York, but he can't move on because he sees her almost every day; they share a son who spends equal amounts of time with his three parents, and he wonders, not for the first time, if it had been him who had fought his way to New York, if that would have changed anything…

Neal grips his napkin and turns away from the sight of Killian Jones staring lovingly at his wife, fitting against her perfectly despite his missing hand. Neal feels like he's won silver in a contest that only awards the gold. He thinks of Emma's least favorite song on the twenty-dollar album he'd bought; the song is fittingly titled Silver.

_When writing your history,  
>I will always be a footnote<br>A distant memory  
>A warning sign of mistakes made<br>The kind that you learn from_

He knows the lyrics by heart, recites them to himself even as the speakers around him play the romantic song that has the couple swaying. And he knows that it is exactly what he is to her. A footnote in her history, because she shares a son with him, and he's happy and grateful for Henry, he really is, but he also knows he is Emma's mistake, though she'd never admit it out loud, never, because it would mean negating Henry.

_So take this small confession as my price to pay  
>I've never been the kind to let go<br>This silver leaves me longing for gold  
>Second place has never carried me home<em>

Neal really wishes he could let go. He'd wished them both a congratulations, and he'd told Emma that he was happy for her, and she'd looked at him with gratitude, with the look of someone who had healed a long open wound, that he hadn't had the courage to finish his thought, to say _but I still wish it was me you were happy with. _He knows he has never earned it, not the way Killian has, but he can't stop feeling miserable without her, can't allow himself to let go.

**_When I'm broken you're the one thing I need  
>Like an ocean I feel you crash over me<br>We disappear into each other  
>Our colors appear and bleed into one<br>Until we become something new  
>And we can escape<br>And watch the world chasing to find us  
>Both of us hidden from view<br>If you fade into me_**

He pushes his melancholy thoughts away, refocusing on the song playing, though it takes him a few more seconds and a gulp of liquid courage to drag his eyes back to the beautiful blonde in white, knowing that Killian Jones fills the broken cracks Neal is responsible for, just like how Emma soothes the raging tempest that is Killian Jones; they're made for each other, loathe though he is to admit it, and he wonders, not for the first time, if a time will come when he'll meet his own True Love, or if he is doomed to love Emma from afar, alone, armed with nothing but regrets for the entirety of his life.

The dance ends, and Killian dips Emma with his strong arm, a feat that Neal admits is impressive, as the crowd wolf-whistles and Ruby yells for Killian to 'Just kiss her already!'

Killian shoots Ruby a wolfish grin before his lips are on Emma's, much to the delight of everyone present. Neal looks away, only to catch his father's gaze. He sardonically raises his glass, and Rumplestiltskin frowns, tilting his head in question, eyes lit in concern. Neal shakes his head, standing as people began moving to the dance floor now that the first dance has been done.

**_Fade into me  
>Fade into me<em>**

He leaves early, and doesn't stray far from his father or Belle the entire night.

* * *

><p><em>AN - I'd like to thank sassyduck and all of you who take the time to review, and all of you who decided to take a chance on this story, because as a reader, I myself tend to be wary of song-story thingies. With that said, do you readers even take the lyrics into account of the story, or do you skim through them to get to the text? Asking because I'm trying to figure if I should change the format up so that the story is unbroken and the explanation of the song that inspired it left as an author's note or if its fine as is. Feedback is appreciated, merci beaucoup! _


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